CPC Statement On Federal Administration Executive Order to End Asylum Access at the Southern Border
The Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) stands opposed to the Federal Administration’s executive order that would deny asylum access to migrants entering the U.S. southern border. The executive order seeks to limit asylum applications to our country’s 328 ports of entry -- only some of which exist along the border.
This is the most recent in a series of xenophobic attacks on immigrants, from creation of the Muslim Ban to drafted expansion of the public charge rule. This executive order represents a humanitarian failure because the large group of asylum seekers from Central America making its way to the U.S. border is fleeing political turmoil funded and fueled by the United States itself. In fact, international and U.S. law state that immigrants physically present in the country may apply for asylum “whether or not at a designated port of arrival,” with limited exceptions.
“CPC believes that the United States should remain a country where everyone can reach their full potential, which is why CPC has been a haven for asylees for decades,” said Wayne Ho, President & CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council. “In recent years, more asylees come from China than any other country. CPC stands in opposition to any action that would threaten or restrict access to asylum.”
“Asylum and safe haven are some of the principles on which the United States was founded - asylum from religious persecution, asylum from political upheaval, asylum from famine and natural disaster,” said Carlyn Cowen, Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer of CPC. “When placed alongside the Trump Administration’s other destructive policies like the Muslim Ban, the recessions of DACA and TPS, and restrictions on family-based sponsorship, this is just one more piece of this administration’s grander scheme: to create a pay-to-play democracy with immigration from only the wealthiest countries.”
“This executive order emboldens the nationalist rhetoric that has placed immigrant communities and communities of color under a constant spectre of violence,” said Amy Torres, Director of Policy and Advocacy. “These treacherous ideologies have spread far beyond our nation’s southern border. In the last month alone New Yorkers stood in solidarity with Pittsburgh, endured a spate of anti-Semitic graffiti, and watched as the Proud Boys roamed our streets in search of violence.”
Press Contacts:
Carlyn Cowen, Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer ccowen@cpc-nyc.org, 212.941.0920 x 155
Amy Torres, Director of Policy and Advocacy atorres@cpc-nyc.org, 212.941.0920 x 122